Cloudless
by aerisbolt
Summary: There are new additions and the last chapter is back up ! A story about Aerith. I have combined aspects of FFVII,FFVII:AC,and Kingdom Hearts I&II. Setting:Kingdom Hearts II but the story continues on to events after KHII ends. Clerith
1. Remembrance

Hello there. I have decided to flesh out my very first fanfiction story. This story is very dear to me and I truly hope I have only enhanced the enjoyment for the reader. I also wanted to take a moment to thank all those who took time to read the original and to those that took time to review or favorite this story. It means more to me than I can say. Feedback is still wanted and appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or FFVII. Those games belong to Square Enix.

* * *

_Blurry. That is how the dream always begins; like a water painting that has been left in the rain, all the images become distorted. As the blurriness begins to fade away an image begins to come into view. A person in black with their back to her. A few moments later, the area around this person begins to clear up completely, and she can see the image in its entirety._

_It's him._

_He is looking at a building, and though she can't see his face, she knows his eyes are on the flowers she planted around the building. He's waiting; for what? She silently prays that he is waiting for her. Then he begins to turn around, but the sun is so bright that she can't see his face. She waits, holding her breath, as his face is about to come through the blinding light..._

Aerith jolts awake. She let's out a large sigh, and says "Always the same".

For the past few months, she has had this dream, and every time, more and more details are revealed. Each night, the dream's intensity increases, and every time she is closer to him. But lately, the dream has been exactly the same, right up to the point of not being able to see his face through the light. She has mixed emotions each night when she goes to bed; those of comfort and elation, and those of sadness and dread.

Aerith observes the time. Pretty soon, Yuffie will be charging into the room making sure Aerith is up and ready. There is work to do and the restoration waits for no one. She knows that Yuffie may get on some people's nerves, but her constant energy and smile are a pillar of strength for Aerith. A few minutes later, as Aerith walks into the meeting room, she can see the surprise on Yuffie's face that she has arrived so early. It seems that Aerith has broken the routine for both of them this morning. She smiles at all of her friends in the room; Yuffie, Cid, and Leon. These were the people Aerith had been through so many changes with and she was always grateful for the comradery.

"Well I'll be damned, no cheerleader this morning eh?"

"Good morning to you too Cid" Aerith replies playfully.

Cid, the typical 'tough guy with a tender heart'. The teasing from him is nothing new, it is actually a daily occurrence. It almost seems that Cid gave her the starting time that he did just to be able to 'rag' her every morning. The new schedule that Cid gave to everyone for the restoration is as follows: Cid takes on fixing machines and doing other maintenance projects. Aerith takes on painting, gardening, and any other tasks that help the now debunk Hallow Bastion become the restored Radiant Garden, Yuffie and Leon take on the computers, liaison work between worlds, and any other jobs that come up. At the end of the day, the group always tries to have at least a 30 to 45 minute meeting to discuss particulars of the day, and other matters. That is how most days operate unless there are extenuating circumstances. They only take one day off a week for leisure and fun. This is Aerith's life now and she is grateful for it, but unanswered questions haunt her.

After breakfast and a quick run through of the schedule of the day the group disperces into their own work. Aerith goes to grab some paint from one of the closets. While it's quiet her mind wanders to...the time before.

The time before? That was the only way for Aerith to describe it. She wasn't sure if she was even supposed to remember that time, since it seemed that not many others did. Here in this place, they had a background, a past together. She had grown up with many of them, and they all were waiting for the others to make their way back. Only Leon seemed to have a possible inkling that something wasn't right about their memories. Maybe it was due to the fact he was tied to the same feelings of yearning she experiences; the need to be reunited with someone. Yet she had never been able to start that conversation with him. She had resolved herself to do the 'wait and see' approach when it came to that subject with Leon. But even though they had never spoken about it, his actions and reactions have kept her from thinking she was insane. Though that was a relief for Aerith it didn't mean they didn't haunt her.

Those off memories;t she kept to herself; and they continuously ate at her. One of her deepest desires was for her friends to truly understand what she was seeing or remembering; to be able to have them look at these memories through her eyes. Unfortunately, she is still searching for a way to accomplish this.

Aerith made her way back towards the meeting room, carrying her two buckets of paint.

She remembers being in a place she could not describe, except by the way it made her feel. There were many other people there, many which seemed connected to him. However, almost none of those people were here with her now in this reality. In this place of her memories, she was at peace and she was able to watch over the planet, and all of those that she loved. She was literally connected to that planet...to her promised land.

There were so many times during her work in Radiant Garden that her mind would start to wander, and she would remember what seemed to be specific situations involving him. For instance in one memory she was standing near a busy intersection, selling flowers, and then... he would appear and buy a flower from her...or did he? The confusing thing was that every time she thought about that said situation, the outcome would switch. This made the memory even more exasperating.

The next memory however is much more distinct. "I was tending the flowers in the church" she says to herself, and then a loud CRASH brought him down right on top of the flowers. "After introductions, I asked him a question...why did I ask him a question? What was the...oh yes, I was being hunted and I wanted protection. So I asked him to be my bodyguard so I could get home." This memory always brought a smile to Aerith's face. Thinking back to her situation, she had known there was no way she could pay him, so she had thought to herself, _catch him off guard by saying your payment to him will be one date_ (secretly hoping he wouldn't refuse). He had accepted.

Her happy trip to another time suddenly became something else when another memory started to invade the one she was thinking of at the moment. She internally tried to push it away but it was no use. That memory was surfacing now, and when that happens, it always makes her collapse. This memory is very different from the other ones; scattered and harsh. With a white flash, the first part of the memory appears and she is on her knees praying; there is light all around her. Another flash and the second part comes through; she looks up and looks right at him. He has come for her and her prayer for Holy, the materia that will help the planet, has been answered. And she knows with every fiber of her being that everything is going to be okay. But then with vigor, as the final image of the memory appears, her body reacts, as if the incident was occurring at this very moment. As she begins to black out she remembers what happened.

"Ahh!" Aerith screams out loud. The pain in her stomach is excruciating and she only has a brief second to look down and see the sword sticking through her before all goes dark.


	2. Truth

_So this chapter comes from the Discovery Chapter being broken up into two parts. I hope you enjoy the additions.  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or FFVII. Those games belong to Square Enix._

* * *

Yuffie runs in from hearing the scream and sees Aerith lying on the floor. "Aerith!" "Aerith are you okay?"

Aerith feels her body being shaken forcefully. She thinks to herself, '_Yeah, shaking me like this is really is going to do the trick_.' Her eyes start to open, and there is Yuffie's face inches from her own. Aerith instinctively pushes Yuffie away, "I'm okay Yuffie". She knows that she had spoken out loud just then, but the voice sounds awful, like it could break hearts.

"Like Hell you are!" Leon has appeared now thanks to all the commotion. His eyes were blazing.

"I've kept my mouth shut for weeks about what's been going on with you. All those nightmares you've been having." His eyes make contact with Aerith's eyes, and he begins to lose the pure anger in his voice. After a few moments his normal brooding tone of voice returns.

"Don't look at me like that, we all know about them."

Aerith looks over at Yuffie. How long had Yuffie noticed? Yuffie sheepishly looked down avoiding eye contact with her.

"What did you expect Yuffie to do keep it to herself? And what about little Marlene!"

Again Leon's voice went back to being very loud. This angry tirade of his also brought Cid and Marlene into the room with bewilderment on their faces. Aerith glanced over at the young girl who had just walked in. It broke her heart to think that her blackouts might be scaring the child that had recently come into their lives. Marlene had been living with the moogles in Traverse Town since the darkness had separated everyone. One day Aerith and Marlene had bumped into each other literally. Aerith had felt a connection right away with her and it seemed the same for Marlene. It turned out the moogles were hiding her trying to help her regain her memories before allowing her to go around town. But the morning Aerith met her, she had regained the memory of her adopted father and was out looking for him. After speaking to Cid Marlene started working with him and the moogles in his shop. It didn't take long after that for all of the gang to fall for the young girl and now she lives with them here in Radiant Garden.

"And then the sporadic fainting...What is going on!!" It was an event in itself that Leon had actually lost his temper; he was normally always the one keeping everyone together, which was easy with his completely cold exterior. But there was also a lot more to Leon than meets the eye.

"I'm sorry Leon, everyone, I thought it would pass", Aerith quietly stated.

"What would pass?" Leon stood there with his back against the wall and his arms crossed.

"All of these images in my head are coming to the surface with such force." Aerith took a deep breath; she knew the moment had arrived and she would finally try to explain what was happening to her. She took a moment to retie the ribbon in her hair. "I want to say they're dreams but since they effect me this way, the only word I can use to describe what is happening to me is...visions."

She explained everything the best she could, trying to tell them all pertinent details about all the "visions" she had, even with little Marlene in the room. Many of these visions or memories involved Yuffie and Cid, but their past was different then it was here. Aerith also took time to tell Marlene about her father, Barrett, and how much he loved her. As Aerith finished, her friends sat in in silence and Marlene sobbed softly on Cid's shoulder.

The rest of the day all of them did their best to go about their business, lost in their own thoughts. The group didn't even take time to have their normal wrap up meeting. It seemed no one was ready to deal with what repercussions Aerith's visions had and still could have in the future.

Aerith laid in her bed starring at the ceiling and trying to will herself to sleep when she heard a soft knock at the door.

"Come in."

Marlene tentatively peaked her head in and only came forward when Aerith had sat up and motioned to her. She then took a seat on the edge of Aerith's bed. Marlene didn't speak at first, as if she was trying to find a way to say what was in her heart. After sitting together for a few moments in silence, Marlene finally decided to speak.

"I remember dad putting me on his shoulders while we were in a church; looking at a patch of flowers growing out of the ground towards the front it." her voice sounded far away.

"I can still see the light shining down on them. He had brought me there to reflect the hard work everyone had put into fighting for the planet."

She paused for a moment, her voice cracking a little when she decided to speak again . "But most importantly, to remember the flower girl's sacrifice."

Aerith could hear the depth of sadness in Marlene's voice. It was a sadness that no child should ever know about. Aerith's heart ached for this young child, but finally with Marlene finally opening up many of Aerith's questions about her were now being answered.

"I always wondered why that dream was always the same, but I just figured it was my way of remembering dad...now I know that it is more than that so, thank you". Marlene turned and gave Aerith a strong hug.

" I don't know why things are the way they are, but I am so happy you have another chance...to live. But please let me know if you remember more, I want to remember the way my dad really was, how everyone was, even if the memories are hard to deal with."

And with that the young girl went to her room leaving Aerith alone. She was emotionally and physically exhausted by everything that had happened today. She took a long hot shower to soothe her aching muscles and then eagerly slipped into her welcoming bed, falling almost immediately into a deep sleep.


	3. Discovery

_So I believe this has the most additions so far, but I felt it was necessary to give more details on how Aerith and all of her friends had come to this point and how she feels about being constantly separated from a certain blond. :) Hopefully you will enjoy the new details. As always thanks for taking time to read the story!  
_

_Disclaimer: I still do not own KH and it is still the property of Square Enix._

* * *

Darkness...Aerith found it ironic. She wanted to be able to close her eyes and see nothing but black. Then again, it was because of the darkness that she was in this situation right now, fighting to regain possibly forbidden memories and still be happy with her new life. She realizes now that the first time the darkness came it gave her a new beginning, a true new lease on life. She had been given a past where she was happy. It was a good life growing up with Yuffie, Leon, Cid. Of course _he_ had been there as well and she had the chance to be with him throughout their childhood. Aerith and the rest of them now know, thanks to Aerith's memories that when the darkness came and put them in Traverse Town, it was actually the second time it had appeared.

The aftermath had been insane. Thousands of people desperately searching for their lost loved ones, being thrown into new worlds they never even knew existed. It had been no different for her group. Each of them searched tirelessly for each other and others from their group. Eventually the four of them were reunited. Aerith had been so happy but the feeling of joy soon passed, sorrow taking joys place. After months of searching, he was still missing. Fate seemed like it was playing a cruel joke, no matter the reality, place, or time; the man she loved was always separated from her.

Thinking about how and why all this happened would probably make anyone go insane. She decided to stay focused on the present as much as possible and just look at the other memories a gift. Aerith figured that there must have been a reason for her being able to retrieve those old memories, so she embraced them and was determined to use them to her advantage.

"Aerith."

She looked up to see Yuffie standing halfway between her and the door. Yuffie spoke very softly and paused for a moment, then spoke again. "Aerith, Sora is here, we should probably go see what news he has for us."

The light was extremely bright as it broke through her curtains; she had actually slept through the night. Aerith tried to gather her thoughts and put together what was going on. She thought of the boy who was thrown into his fate of fighting against the darkness. It was because if his brave actions that she had been given the opportunity to see him again. While she and her friends were in Traverse Town, Sora was brought into her life, along with the key blade. She remembered back to when she first met him and how she was able to feel and understand his pain right away; she knew what it was to be searching for someone, not even knowing where to look. He had been so brave and at one point it appeared he had defeated the darkness. And it was because of what Sora accomplished that those who had been separated from each other were given a chance to be reunited.

Aerith closed her eyes and smiled to herself thinking back to when she had been reunited with _him_. He had looked somewhat different with a long red cape that looked as though it had seen to many battles. As they moved toward each other, she had wanted to look into his eyes so she leaned down to look under his lowered head. Once their eyes had met she had become so overwhelmed with joy that she embraced him, holding him as tight as her strength would allow, unable to speak. And when she had felts his arms wrap around her hugging her back so tight that she could barely breathe; she had felt complete.

But now as she started to think of what happened after that perfect moment she could feel the anger filling her heart. Sephiroth. Even in this new reality he had found away to torment him. He had been so happy to have found all his friends again but he had been left without closure. He had fought Sephiroth and Sephiroth had disappeared but the battle between them was not over. Because of the threat of Sephiroth he had left almost as quickly as he had arrived. Aerith never even had a chance to tell him how she felt about him, there was never an appropriate time. And after he left again the only proof that he had even returned at all was the red cape he had worn and a letter to the group telling them all of his departure. Every once in a while Leon would tell them all that he had checked in always asking if everyone was alright and to say once again that he wasn't coming back yet. Aerith had always known his actions were done in effort to protect her and the others from Sephiroth. And once her memories of the time before started coming back Aerith understood his fear even more. Sephiroth was already taking his light; he wanted to make sure Sephiroth didn't take anything else. But even with all her understanding of the situation; her knowing that the journey he was taking was one he had to do alone; everyday he was gone Aerith felt like a little more of her soul had died inside.

Aerith forced her eyes opened, hoping by seeing Sora her pain would subside for a time by being swept up with whatever was happening in the present. After getting ready she walked into the meeting room and looked at spiky brown haired young man and smiled. He turned and smiled back at her. "Back so soon Sora? I guess you just can't get enough of us" Aerith playfully said.

Leon then turned and began to brief her but she put up her hand, "Fill me in later, you are already deep into strategy and discussion, please forgive me for interrupting. I'll be with Marlene if you need me."

Yuffie, Leon, Cid, and Sora all nodded and with that she walked outside. She immediately had to put her hand up to shield her eyes, the light was so bright. But she kept moving, it's not like she really had to see all that clearly anyway, Aerith was just a few blocks from her destination and she wanted to speak to Marlene some more about their previous evening discussion. She was lost in thought when all of the sudden she was frozen, almost falling due to jerking to a stop so fast. There in front of her was a silhouette of a person standing right outside where Aerith was headed. It was a man, with spiky blond hair, wearing black with only one arm covered by a sleeve. He hadn't even turned around yet but it didn't matter, it was him. After all her senses were back working together she finally was able to open her mouth as he began to turn around. Aerith half whispers out loud, "Cloud?"


	4. Reintroductions

_Just a few changes this chapter. Enjoy!  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or FFVII. Those games belong to Square Enix along with FFVII: Advent Children. There is also a part of dialogue that is directly from KH2 which is soley Square Enix property._

* * *

Her eyes meet his and neither of them move for a moment. Then she begins to move forward when she hears "Cloud!" Marlene runs and tackles him around the legs. "Cloud, you came back, where have you been?"

Aeris can't help but crack a smile as she watches Cloud try to handle Marlene's questions. She herself lost count after ten and before any are answered Marlene abruptly says "Wait you have to come and tell everyone where you have been!" And with that Cloud is being "dragged" back to others. Aerith follows but slowly. She is so relieved and happy to see him, but she has felt this before and is afraid that like last time, it won't be for good. When she finally walks back into the briefing room, she sees Cloud, Leon, and Cid talking. It appears Sora has left them for the moment. Aerith can hear Yuffie in the kitchen with Marlene scolding her for something. Cloud is talking to Leon and Cid about Sephiroth. He is explaining how Sephiroth continues to allude him so when he has decided to take a huge risk and hope to lure him out in the open by visiting his friends. Cloud also wanted to tell each of them how to defend themselves should he appear.

"So what's the first rule in defending yourself against Sephiroth?" Cloud asks. Aerith responds without thinking, " Make sure your back isn't to him." An uncomfortable silence comes over the room. Yuffie grabs a hold of Marlene's had and they head silently for the kitchen. Cloud looks as though he has been punched in the stomach knowing that she remembers Sephiroth and that she remembers how he killed her. Aerith immediately regrets her outburst but deep down she knows it is better that Cloud knows that she remembers. Before any of them can break the silence, a noise does it for them. Crash

"YUFFIE WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

"I'm sorry Marlene I was just"...

"GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!" Marlene screams.

"Hey you can't talk to me like that, kid!"Yuffie shouts back.

Aerith rushes toward the kitchen and says in a sarcastic tone "Yeah this is great we're all together again, just one big happy family." Aerith walks into the kitchen and surveys the scene.

"That's a good look for you Yuffie" Aerith giggles. There was Yuffie covered in flour with Marlene behind her with flames in her eyes. "I'll take it from here, why don't you go clean up and change before the celebratory dinner that I assume we're having, okay?"

Though Aerith knew the cleanup didn't take that long, by the time she and Marlene had the main course cooking, she felt like it had been ages. As Aerith works she becomes lost in thought and begins to remember one of the times she watched Cloud take on Sephiroth. She had been right there with him, even though she couldn't be physically seen. Sephiroth had made the entire sky turn black, trying to attack their planet. Cloud had taken him on one on one. That win against him had been so significant. Cloud had found the light within himself, he was at peace. Then sometime after that the darkness had appeared and took everything; changed everything. Well, changed everything but Cloud's connection to Sephiroth.

Marlene bumps into her on accident bringing her back to the present. That's when it hit her, she knew Cloud was not in the other room and she felt her stomach drop. She calmly excused herself from Marlene explaining she wanted to take a little break and then she calmly went out to walk around and look for him. After searching for a little bit she sees Cloud, his back against a wall outside Uncle Scrooge's Ice Cream Shop, talking to Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Aerith decides as she moves toward Cloud that she is going to be as supportive and kind as she can because she already knows where their soon to be conversation is headed.

"Is something wrong?" Aerith asks. (1)

Cloud responds, "Its nothing."

Aerith leans forward trying to see into his eyes, "Hmmm?"

Cloud speaks again "I don't want you involved."

Aerith feels a little twinge of pain in her heart but tries to stay steady. "You mean you don't want me there when you go away again."

As Aerith sees his reaction, she thinks to herself; _Cloud seems agitated_.

"I just...listen, even if I go far away, I'll come back."

Aerith's heart leaps, "Do you mean it?"

Cloud replies, "Yeah."

Aerith's stomach sinks a little. "See, you don't look so sure." She digs deep within herself to stay calm and strong for him,

"Well okay, I understand." "Go...get things settled."

Cloud reacts with a question, "Huh?"

Aerith is using all her strength to keep herself from shaking. "No matter how far away you are, once you find your light..., I'm sure it will lead you back here again...right?"

Cloud answers, "I suppose."

With that response from him she feels as though the wind has been knocked out from her lungs but she refuses to show how she is feeling. She continues.

"So I'll stay here, and I'll cheer for you. Okay Cloud?"

Cloud responds with one word "Okay" and then turns away from her. Aerith watches as he walks away.

She can feel Sora's presence coming up next to her, but her body feels almost completely numb. Her initial reaction was just to be optimistic, after all that is how she always tries to view things.

"Wonder if he'll be okay." she didn't even realize at first she said it out loud.

Sora replies, "He'll be fine. I'm sure there is light in him somewhere." Aerith is very grateful for Sora's words and she responds "You're right."(1)

And though she had faith in Cloud and Sora's words and they rang true to her she couldn't say anything about how she was really feeling. In the end all she could do was wait and pray.

Sometime later Sora and his companions were going to head out again and she and the rest of her friends were trying to help them get ready. Sora and his two companions were making some last minute preparations when an unexpected old friend walked in. Since Cid was standing, Aerith couldn't see the person at first, but then she heard the voice. "Cid! Yuffie! I can't believe it!"

"Tifa!" Marlene attacked her before she half realized who it was attacking her.

"Marlene! Oh thank goodness you are all right; it is so good to see familiar faces." After a few moments, Aeris finally got the courage to speak to Tifa; the fighter who was her dear friend in her memories and the girl who she had a friendly rivalry with over the affections of a certain man. Tifa is a tough fighter against her enemies, but she is fiercest with her loyalty to those she loves. Aerith remembers feeling slightly jealous of her because Tifa was able to be with Cloud and Aerith could only watch over all of them. Yet she knew Tifa would always do everything in her power to help and protect Cloud and to make him happy.

"Hello Tifa."

Aerith spoke softly not knowing what reaction she would get. Tifa looked up from her embrace with Marlene. Her eyes widened, she stood up, looked at Cid and Marlene. Aerith figured she was trying to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

"Aer...I can't believe it...you're alive...you're really here?" Tifa's voice was shaking.

Aerith and Tifa hugged and half laughed and half cried. As they were reminiscing and Marlene was getting the opportunity to hear more about her father, Aerith's attention was shifted over to Leon who had walked in at some point. Aeris noticed that Leon was unusually antsy and kept taking long glances at Tifa. At first she thought that possibly he found Tifa cute but as she observed him more she realized it wasn't that simple. Tifa reminded him of someone or some memory and there was deep pain in his eyes. Aerith promised herself silently to go to Leon later and really talk to him about his past. After Marlene had been forced by Yuffie to take her bath, the subject that both of them had been avoiding finally came up.

"So, Cloud was here."

Aerith forced the words out of her mouth. She then asked the question she already knew the answer to. "You're looking for him, aren't you?"

She had found the strength to bring the subject out in the open.

Tifa's face began to turn slightly pink, "Yeah, do you know where he went?"

As Aerith responds to Tifa's question her voice sounds like she is a million miles away, "Cloud is searching for his light, and I don't think he can truly find it until he faces Sephiroth again and takes on the darkness inside himself."

Tifa rises, "Then I have to go, I have to help him."

Aerith replied but her eyes were focused on the floor, "I know you do".

She could feel Tifa looking at her for a moment and then she spoke, " Aerith, I will help him regain his light. Everything will be okay." And with a nod to Cid, Leon, and Yuffie she went to say goodbye to Marlene. When she came back a few minutes later Aerith said, "I'll point out the direction he went."

She then walked her to where Cloud had last been seen. Aerith tried to sound strong as she spoke to Tifa.

"Tifa, come back to us."

And after a brief hug and nod from Tifa, she walks away. After a few moments she was out of Aerith's sight. As Aerith stood there alone she thought about all of her friends and the recent events that had taken place. Each of them had a path and though she wasn't sure of everyone's path, she knew Tifa's path was the same one as Cloud's. What she didn't know is if it would always be that way. All she could do for now was pray for their safe return.


	5. Celebration

_Hi, just a little polishing up in this chapter. I just have to say Vivi makes me smile, he is too cute. Enjoy!  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or FFVII. Those games belong to Square Enix._

* * *

Aerith looked out her window. It was a beautiful day; the celebration planners couldn't have ordered a better day. Aerith put on her new outfit; she had bought it just for this occasion. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were going to be honored for their bravery for defeating the latest threat. It seemed life was improving for all the worlds. For her and the rest of the gang this week had already been extremely special. The Hallow Bastion Restoration was now complete, their home is Radiant Garden again and they would all have be taking on new roles and responsibilites after all the festivities were over, but she wasn't going to think about that today. She finished fixing her hair and was giving herself one more look over when Marlene and Yuffie walked in. They both looked lovely. Marlene was the first to speak, "Wow Aerith you look like an angel!"

Aerith gave Marlene a huge hug and said "Thank you Marlene but you are far too kind." Yuffie was smiling broadly and Aerith just had to comment on how dressed ups she was. Aerith had never seen Yuffie in such a, well, girlie dress.

"Yuffie, you look stunning; you better take one of your weapons with you to beat off all of the suitors you'll get today."

Yuffie's smile dropped for a few seconds not sure of what Aerith was trying to say. But then to Aerith's relief Yuffie began to smile again, though her she began to fidget and look down appearing slightly self conscious .

"Thank you."

Then recovering from her momentary embarrassment; with a huge smirk on her face she went a retrieved her conformer weapon. "I'm armed and ready! Any perverts out there today will be extremely sorry if they try anything."

Aerith chuckled at Yuffie and started to follow her and Marlene out when something inside her told her to bring a few potions along with her. She put them in her purse and headed out.

After a little while on a Gummi Ship they arrived at the Olympus Coliseum. Though this was the place to hold an extremely large crowd she found it almost ironic that they would use the same place that normally glorified fighting and violence to honor the stopping of those very things. As she walked in she had to admit it almost looked completely different. It was a sight to be seen for sure. As she was walking through the crowd to her seat she noticed a small child in front her. As she observed the child, all of the sudden the child tripped and fell flat on his face. Aerith rushed toward the child and watched as he stood back up and fixed his hat. When she got close enough she said to him, "Are you alright?"

"Umm, y...yes I'm fine thank you" the little boy replied. But at that moment someone bumped the child and again he was on the ground again.

"Hey jerk watch where you are going!" Aerith yelled. But the person just kept going.

The boy spoke again, "It's okay, I just loose my footing sometimes and then people don't see me." Her heart melted for this little child.

"What is your name?" she asked.

The child replied, "I'm Vivi."

"Very nice to meet you Vivi." His eyes were yellow and they glowed, but his face was different from any other she had ever seen.

"It's very nice to meet you too" Vivi voice shook a little.

"Well Vivi where are you sitting?" Aerith asked.

Vivi then started to pull out his ticket and said, "Umm...I'm not sure, my ticket says general seating on it."

As Aerith watched him, he appeared so frightened to her; then again he was so small and alone so why wouldn't he be. Aerith decided right then and there to adopt him, at least for the day. She put her hand on his shoulder "Oh that just won't do at all! How about you sit with me and my friends, hmm?"

Vivi fixed his hat again, "I, I wouldn't want to be a burden."

"Nonsense... Yuffie!" Aerith yelled as she motioned to her friend.

Yuffie came over and looked down at Vivi, "Who's the squirt, did his loose his mom?"

Aerith grabbed Yuffie by the arm and began to pinch. "Oww!" "Aerith, that hurts."

Aerith whispered, "I don't think he has anyone."

Yuffie's eyes became soft, understanding what Aerith was trying to do."Oh...I see."

Aerith turned to the little child. "Vivi would you please follow Yuffie here to our seats?"

Yuffie squatted down so she could be eye level with him. "Vivi right? Umm sorry about the squirt thing, it's just I like to come up with names for people; you'll learn that about me."

Yuffie then took Vivi's hand. "Come on there are some other friends of mine I would like you to meet."

Aerith smiled and nodded in approval. As Yuffie directed him towards Marlene and Cid she could still hear Yuffie talking. "So squirt, do you have any interest in materia?"

Aerith couldn't hear Vivi's response but she certainly heard Yuffie. "You do!" What is your favorite spell?" Yuffie excitedly asked.

By this point Leon had caught up to them he had lost their game of rock, paper, scissors and therefore had been stuck with the task of getting everyone drinks.

Aerith spoke to him. "Uh oh looks like Vivi has a friend for life."

Leon smirked "Perfect, now there is someone to keep her distracted. What's even better about it is the kid happens to be right at her maturity level."

Aerith quickly quipped back "Don't worry; I'm sure they'll include you if you ask." Leon just folded his arms, "Whatever."And with that the two of them sat down in the last two seats of the row.

The ceremony for Sora, Goofy, and Donald was spectacular. King Mickey did not disappoint. The entertainment that followed was extremely enjoyable and soon it would be time for the finally which included the biggest display of fireworks that all the worlds could put together. At one point Vivi had switched places with Marlene and Aerith guessed it was to give him a little breather from Yuffie. Despite the fact they had only just met each other she got along beautifully with Vivi and the two of them just kept chatting away. She was happy, but her mind would sporadically wander to those who were not present. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath...all of the sudden there was a tap on her shoulder.


	6. Search Ends

Hello everyone, this chapter has the most changes yet but I truly believe it is a good thing. To be honest I was never truly happy with the original fight scene, it was too rushed and left out some much needed descriptions. So here is the new an improved version, it is a bit long but hopefully you will find the chapter worth your time. As always, I would love to know your thoughts on it and thanks to all of you for continuing to come back to read what happens next.

Disclaimer: As always I do not own the Kingdom Hearts series or FFVII series, they are the property of Square Enix.

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"Tifa!" Aerith spun around and hugged her. "Thank goodness you're all right. You're not injured at all are you?"

"I'm fine, stop fussing...ooff, Marlene you're going to make me fall." As Tifa was attacked by a hug from Marlene, Aerith quickly looked around for Cloud, _maybe now with things calm I can say everything that's been in my heart_. But Cloud was not there, she kept looking in all directions, slowly to not draw attention to herself, but still in all directions. Finally she forced her eyes back onto Tifa. Aerith's voice cracked a little when she asked "He's not here is he."

"I'm sorry, I did find him...we fought Sephiroth and it appeared he found his light." Tifa then paused "But he disappeared into the sky with Sephiroth and they were still fighting, I'm sorry."

Aerith quickly turned away; her eyes began to fill with tears. After a few moments she felt a small hand on her arm, "I'm sorry too Aerith, would you like my handkerchief?" She turned to see Vivi looking up at her holding a small cloth.

"Oh thank you very much Vivi." She quickly wiped away the forming tears and took a deep breath. Marlene also tried to help "Look Aerith! Look at the sky its getting dark so it must be time for the fireworks!" Aerith gave Marlene a faint, grateful smile and looked up into the sky. But her smile quickly faded; she had seen this sky before.

As she observed the sky she started to see an object coming through the clouds. She knew with every part of her being it was Sephiroth. She felt a fear shoot through her body; this was the nagging feeling she had earlier, somewhere insider her she knew he was going to be here. And just as she had in the time before, she knew she was the one who must face him... alone.But this time she would take him head on.

Takin a deep breath she turns, "Leon, I'm going to need your help." Leon turned with confusion, then deep concern on his face. "Aerith, what's going on?

"We don't have much time, I need you to help with crowd control, they are all going to be panicing in a moment. Make sure the King and Queen get out of here safely."

Aerith voice took on an authoritative tone. "Cid, I am going to need you to go with him."

"Now wait a damn minute what the hell is going on!" Cid huffed.

"Cid! Please just trust me!"Aerith had never yelled at Cid like that before, or any of them for that matter. But it did the trick because after a brief moment of Cid standing there with his mouth wide open he nodded and headed off with Leon.

She then turns to Tifa and Yuffie. "Ladies I need you to take care of Marlene and Vivi, please get them out of here." Yuffie starts to protest but the determination on Aerith's face stops her cold and she nods and picks up Vivi.

Tifa then asks "You sure you don't want to fill us in?" as she takes Marlene by the hand. Aerith only breaks her focus for a second to stroke Marlene's hair and to talk to Vivi.

"I'm sorry about this but please go with them and I'll see you soon and I promise I will explain everything."

There was no way to explain to them that she knew what that object in the sky was. By this time there was a lot of commotion, everyone oohing and awing while looking up; thinking its all part of the festivities. As the object continues to fall it now looks like a great ball of fire. People begin screaming and trying to leave the stands with some pushing and shoving. Leon and Cid have made it to the King and Queen and have already started escorting them out while telling Sora, Goofy, and Donald to help with the crowd. Sora and Donald sprint full force towards the crowd while Goofy orders the soldiers who were there for show to help keep stairways and exits open.

Aerith had already started moving toward the open part of the arena and was at the moment frozen; staring at the object hits the ground in the middle of the arena. A gigantic cloud of dirt starts to blanket everyone and the crowd's fear heightens even more. Some of the screams are deafening and Goofy and his small band of troops along with Sora and Donald are using every it of strength they have to save anyone who has fallen down to keep them from being trampled.

Aerith closes her eyes for a moment waiting for the dirt to settle. When it begins to clear, her theory is made reality, there is Sephiroth rising from the ground with his long silver hair blowing and holding his sword. The moment she saw the sword she felt the sharp pain in her stomach again, she knew all to well how long that sword was and how effortlessly it could go through a body. Aerith swallows hard and forces herself to take another deep breath. She could not give into her fear; she knows perfectly well why he has come here. His purpose is to bring darkness and despair and this arena with all these people is the perfect place to start.

But it is also more than that, this is personal for him and she finds out just how personal when he slowly turns and sees her standing there. The one on one battle that now always seemed inevitable was here.

Her whole body tenses when they make eye contact but she somehow maintains a calm exterior. Sephiroth slowly begins to grin; taunting her.

"Oh look it's the Cetra girl, I remember you."

His menacing look is terrifying; however with knowing that he has been defeated before gives her a small amount of hope. It keeps her steady as he continues to talk to her.

"I have to hand it to you, you were much more powerful than I anticipated, it seemed not even sticking a sword through you was enough."

He gritted his teeth,"Always giving strength to the puppet."

He begins to slowly move toward her but Aerith doesn't even flinch.

"This is actually going to work out better than I had planned."

Sephiroth grinned again. "Yes if I truly destroy you I can get two for the price of one, killing you in that other place almost destroyed him, annihilating your existence completely in this one will be my way to complete victory over him."

He squints as he looks at her and then continues, "I'm sorry but you see your light is too bright and I attend to help bring the worlds back to darkness."

He stops now, there isn't too many lengths between them now. Aerith could feel the evil resonating off him.

"But this time you will see your death coming."

Aerith felt the pain in her stomach again, making her queasy but she ignored it. He was an amazing fighter and she was no match for him, if he got the chance to truly hit her, it would be over for her. So she did the only thing she could...she fell to her knees and started to pray.

Sephiroth laughed "So you're praying?"

His mannerisms were taking on just a hint of derangement.

"For what, that he'll come and protect you, is that what you're doing?"

Sephiroth actually began to shake from laughter. "He can't help you."

Aerith looked up and smirked. "Then I guess you'll just have to amuse yourself with just this one helpless girl."

Aerith rose to her feet with her limit break Great Gospel in full effect. "So attack me already unless your strategy is to bore me to death with your talking."

This stopped Sephiroth's laughter immediately and he drew back his sword bringing himself into his fighting position.

In the corner of her eye she can see something moving towards her and Sephiroth. Having gotten the crowd under control; Sora, Donald, and Goofy have come to help but in their ferver to get to her; Aerith doesn't have time to yell to them to stay back. Sephiroth says something that Aerith can't make out and with one swift movement he lifts the three of them into the air and throws them all the way to the other part of the arena. She glances over once and they are not moving; she hopes they are just knocked out, but pushes her worry to the side and stares at Sephiroth.

He holds nothing back and comes at her with a slash attack of some kind. He moves back to look at his work and let's out a quick laugh when he realizes the attack did no damage. Aerith knows she does not have a lot of time so she begins to use her magic spells. She begins with casting Slow and then goes through her arsenal to see which spells are effective. As she uses the summon Hades it confuses him long enough for her to use a potion to help her be able to continue to cast.

After trying many physical attacks that have no affect on Aerith, he changes to his lethal arsenal of magic spells. Fortunately for her the protection she had prayed for is holding up and she believes she is starting to weaken him. But after another couple of minutes, though he is now slouched over, Aerith is running out of bottles. So she decides to get ready to use her two most potent spells. But Sephiroth realizes what she is about to do and is able to get in a preemptive strike.

He uses an attack that takes energy from his sword and she is knocked down, Aerith is trying to regain the air that has been taken away from her in the attack; all the while coming to the numbing realization that her Great Gospel limit break has warn off. As Aerith shakily gets back up she can see Sephiroth coming at her in full force. Deep down she figures this has to be the end, she hasn't recovered fast enough to ward off whatever is about to come. However a few feet before Sephiroth reaches her he is hit with the powerful spell Flare. Sephiroth had been so enthralled with landing the killing blow that he never noticed the small black mage who had appeared on the other side of the arena. Aerith looks over as Vivi continues to hit him with a barrage of spells.

Having mixed emotions of shock, relief, and fear Aerith uses the perfectly timed distraction to throw on a few protection spells like shell and regen. As soon as that was taken care of she turned her attention to her new little friend knowing she had to get Vivi out of there before Sephiroth recovers. She brings forth the spell tornado which gently lifts him and it starts to carry him away. But Sephiroth is in hot pursuit of him and uses a dispel of some kind to stop the tornado. Vivi lands on the ground with a hard thud. Aerith screams out in terror too far away now to help him. But at the moment Sephiroth is about to reach Vivi a loud noise comes out from the sky. It distracts Sephiroth and he looks up to see a gummi ship coming towards him and Vivi and full force.

Sephiroth jumps out of the way to keep from being knocked over. The engine is kicking up dirt and for a moment Aeirith cannot see what is happening except that Sephiroth is still on the ground shielding his eyes. A few moments later the dust clears enough to see that Leon, Tifa, and Yuffie have joined Aerith, Vivi, and Sephiroth in the arena and have managed to make a protective circle around Vivi. Aerith can see Leon and Tifa ready in fighting positions while she notice Yuffie turning and tying a rope to Vivi. Sephiroth has recovered and gets back into fighting position. Leon take this opportunity to engage him and they begin clashing swords. Meanwhile Yuffie throws the other end of the rope up to Marlene who has now come into view. Tifa then gentley picks up Vivi and with extreme control and accuracy she tosses Vivi up towards the hovering gummi ship deck. Vivi helps by calling out a floating spell just in time before he crashes into Marlene. Aerith can hear Tifa yell sorry up to them and receives a second rope from Marlene. Both her and Yuffie then turn the attention back to Leon and Sephiroth. Both women nod at each other and the next moment Yuffie releases her Shuriken weapon which hits Sephiroth's sword knocking it out of his hands. But as Leon goes in with an overhead strike, Sephiroth catches Leon's sword in his hands and throws a violent kick into Leon's stomach. As the force throws Leon back, Tifa immediately replaces him, hitting Sephiroth with a roundhouse kick that throws him back. That gives the three friends enough time have Leon grab the rope while Yuffie and Tifa grab onto his waist and with Marlene tying the rope to the railing and Vivi casting another floating spell Aerith watches as they dangle from the gummi ship but fly off to safety thanks to Cid's talent as a pilot to get them high enough to be safe from anymore Sephiroth's attacks.

All this has given time for Aerith to be able to ready her final attacks on Sephiroth. She first attacks with Ultima while dodging Sephiroth who appears to still have dust in his eyes from the fight just moments ago. She then calls forth Knights of the Round which hits him with attack after attack. The damage is extremely great and afterward he is on his knees hunched over; breathing hard and wincing. But though he is badly hurt he finds strength and comes at her with everything he has left. And unfortunately for Aerith, she has exhausted her magic.

Aerith searches the area frantically and sees Leon's sword still on the ground from where the two men had fought earlier. She runs to it and though it is a bit heavy she is able to turn and trip him and jab him a few times. She sees his stance and recognizes the attack so she prepares to dodge it and succeeds but by doing so she trips a little forcing her to try to keep her balance. With the delay that brings Sephiroth comes up to her but instead of finishing her off he uses the grip of his sword and knocks her down.

He then speaks "How does it feel to know that I will destroy all of those you love and cover all the worlds in darkness."

Sephiroth then leans in closer to her and in a soft but cold as ice tone he says, "What does it feel like to know you failed and you will die alone?" Aerith looks at him with defiance in her eyes knowing that she will never give him the satisfaction of allowing to see the sadness she feels for not being able to finish him off. Sephiroth then gets ready to use his final attack.

"He has failed you twice."

Sephiroth then lifts his sword to finish the battle and Aerith braces herself for the blow. But what she witnesses next is not what she envisioned, as Sephiroth's sword comes down towards her face instead of feeling a split second of excruciating pain before everything goes black; she instead sees a second steel sword block the first from hitting her. She sees sparks fly and hears the clashing. Instinctively she roles out of the way, then looks up to see Cloud and Sephiroth with there swords locked together. She watches as Cloud speaks to Sephiroth, "I will not let you take her from me again."


	7. Reunited

Author's final notes (concluded at the end of the story): Well this was a long time coming! Sorry I took so long making the final tweaks to this final chapter of Cloudless. It will always be special to me because it was my first story and I appreciate everyone's patience so that I could make those changes that I did. Of course since it was m first story there are probably many more things I could tinker with but I think I will leave it alone now. I left the credits at the end, again to keep much of the original intact as possible. For those who have taken time to read my story, thank you so much! I would also like to give a special thank you to those who took time to review, put the story on alert or favorites. I appreciate all of you very much. I hope everyone enjoyed the story.

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It was like one of her surreal dreams, he was here making a dramatic entrance and all she could do was lay there flabbergasted. Aerith honestly has no idea where he came from, but is extremely grateful for his timing. The two enemies shove away from each other and Cloud smirks at seeing Sephiroth hunched over; bleeding, bruised, and squinting as he breaths in and out. There are a few moments of tense silence and then swiftly and efficiently Sephiroth pulls out a bottle, swigs it down and yells curaga before Cloud can react. The move has helped and now Cloud knows that Sephiroth has one final hard battle left in him.

"Ah, hello Cloud...been wondering if you would make an appearance. You seem to have an annoying habit of doing that over and over again."

"And you have an annoying habit of not ceasing to exist, no matter how many times I thoroughly kick your ass."

Sephiroth laughed, "Well then shall we see if we can finally finish this epic never ending battle that is going on between us?"

"Absolutely."

Aerith holds her breath as they charge at each other and becomes memorized by the sparks from their swords and the, dare she say it beauty of their movements.

The fighting between them is fierce and swift. They move flawlessly through the air and the ground and she can barely keep up with their fighting pace.

Then there is one moment where Cloud gets knocked back but not without knocking Sephiroth down in the process. Aerith knows she is not able to rejoin the battle but she is strong enough to heal Cloud and cast regen. Cloud takes his eyes off Sephiroth for a second and looks at her and she gives him a nod of reassurance.

He nods back and then attacks Sephiroth again and then a light around him begins to glow. Without missing a beat Aerith begins to focus and then she begins to glow as well.

She smiles and glances at Sephiroth who is perplexed by what is taking place. It appears Cloud's journey has paid off; Cloud was able to find the light within himself and now allows it to shine brightly. Aerith then tells Sephiroth, "He has found his inner light, and now that light is connected with mine."

She then focuses on Cloud and her light transfers to him and a new limit break is born for Cloud, Redemption. Cloud spins around and throws all the light at Sephiroth who falls to his knees and is paralyzed by the light. Cloud dashes behind him and as he slides his sword into Sephiroth's stomach he speaks to him.

"You may be darkness in the flesh or maybe you are just my darkness, but I have now found and connected with all the versions of my light . I know you cannot be completely destroyed so remember this, I will always fight to make sure light conquers darkness."

Aerith sees that Cloud is looking at her as he speaks and she realizes how many meanings that statement really has. Then Sephiroth dissolves back into darkness and disappears. Aerith knows that though Sephiroth was not completely destroyed it is okay because without darkness there can be no light and vice versa. The both have to exist to sustain each other and balance must always be maintained. She knew Cloud now understood that too.

Cloud drops his sword and begins to move quickly towards her, but both of them end up being distracted by all the commotion that was developing around her and Cloud. Sora, Donald and Goofy were running toward them. Cid was landing the Gummi Ship. People were starting to move from their hiding spaces in the seating areas. As Sora ran up to Cloud; Yuffie, Vivi and Leon were the first to her. But she continued to keep her eyes on Cloud and watched Tifa run towards Cloud and semi-punch him in the stomach while scolding him for continuously running off. That was cut short because Marlene was in hot pursuit of Tifa and after a few moments tackles Cloud. Questions were coming from all directions as Aerith tried to get to her feet. People were gathering around them and Cloud eventually disappeared into the masses. Once this happened Aerith realized there were so many people around her that she could barely move at all, she was completely surrounded. She called out for Vivi and he came to her; stealthily moving in between legs and at one point did a very weak lightning spell to move two people who were not paying attention out of the way. Aerith couldn't help but chuckle. Finally he was to her and just as he had a few hours ago, he was looking down and fixing his hat.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, I...I hope you can forgive me."

Aerith leaned down and hugged Vivi. "There is no need to ask for forgiveness, you saved my life...thank you Vivi."

Vivi raised his head a looked at Aerith."I, I didn't make it worse, I...I helped? I am so glad I could help you!"

Vivi then quickly looked down, "Oh... sorry, you're welcome."

Aerith giggled and then said "Just don't make a habit of disobeying me okay?"

After thanking the others for their help and laughing and teasing about each others fighting skills she realized that she still hadn't spoken to Tifa or Cloud. She begins to excuse herself but at that moment she feels a tap on her shoulder. She turns around and there is Tifa. Tifa embraces Aerith tightly.

"Thanks for the help out there Tifa."

Any time, you know I can't let you have all the fun. Tifa giggles slightly and then leans and whispers into her ear, "Don't you think you should go to him, I think you've waited long enough."

Aerith pulls back and she and Tifa share a moment, one of respect and love, and Aerith is more grateful to her than she will ever know. She quickly mouths _thank you_ to Tifa and then begins to push her way through the crowd. After a few moments of looking a many unfamiliar faces she finally sees Cloud, still surrounded, but fidgeting and looking around until his eyes meet hers. As she looks at him all of her feelings and emotions she had suppressed and not allowed herself to feel begin to surface. She runs to him but stops short of embracing him, still holding on to a sliver of fear that she will be rejected. He had said things to Sephiroth, and more importantly the way he had looked at her during and after the battle. She was almost positive but so much time had past, different lives had been lived and then destroyed for a new beginning, and so many times they had been separated. And in their last meeting he had been somewhat cold...so what would he say to her now?

Tears began flowing freely now from her emerald eyes, there is so much she wants to say, so much she needs to say but in the end all that she could say was, "Cloud you saved me, I..."

The next moment she realizes Cloud has taken her into his arms and he holds her to his chest as she cries. Her body freezes, as if afraid the moment is temporary, afraid to accept what his embrace is telling her.

Cloud softly says, "I'm just happy I was finally able to return the favor."

Aerith looks up at him, slightly confused. Cloud lets out a slight laugh and Aerith cannot even describe how happy it makes her to hear him laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she had heard his laugh. Aerith is so overwhelmed all she can do is bury her head in his chest again and this time she allows her arms to wrap around him and squeeze him tight, letting go of her fear and doubt. Cloud returns the embrace with full force.

Cloud's voice is only loud enough for Aerith to hear. "You see...you saved me first."

She finally looks up at him and as they smile at each other. Cloud leans down and kisses her with all the passion and love he has held onto for so long; buried beneath the self loathing and doubt. Aerith returns the kiss two fold and the two lovers take these moments to enjoy the fact that they have finally been reunited, body and soul; giving them a second chance to live out their lives together.

The End...and a New Beginning

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_Author's notes: This story was made from the inspiration of FFVII, FFVII:AC, FFVIII, FFIX, Kingdom Hearts, and Kingdom Hearts 2 which are the property of Square Enix. The author would like to thank in particular Tetsuya Nomura for inspiring fans everywhere due to his creations._

_The author would also especially like to thank my husband Eric (Acehawk74) for his editing, copyright listing and support. Thank yous also go out to ImaginaryGirl, LadyNelZelpher, NekoDono, Goddess in Pink07, and Candice for their support and/or research._

_The author would also like to recognize the Cloud and Aerith Forums whose topics and discussions helped me decide to write this fanfic._

_**1**-This scene is taken directly from KH2 and the dialogue is Square Enix's property. The descriptions surrounding the dialogue is my interpretation of the dialogue written for KH2._

_Final Fantasy, Advent Children, Kingdom Hearts, and all characters named within are copyrights and trademarks of Square Enix and Walt Disney Corporation 2006. All rights to said characters are exclusive intellectual property of the aforementioned companies, and may not be used for profit without their expressed written permission. These characters were used in this story for entertainment purposes only. The author, editor and reader claims no ownership of the character names, expressions, and trademarks associated with this story. All rights reserved by said companies. This story, excluding character(s) and said trademarks and intellectual properties of the aforementioned companies, is property of Amy DuBose (a.k.a. aerisbolt). This story may not be reproduced with any changes without her expressed written permission. You may distribute this story as is, and no changes whatsoever._


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